The Maserati GranTurismo

by Ed Lau on April 3, 2007

After seeing this car on Top Gear last month, I was instantly in love. This, folks, is the Maserati GranTurismo

The design is almost absolutely perfect. While the Ferrari Enzo, Koenigsegg CCX and other supercars are also very pretty, they would look out of place if you were to say, roll up at a posh party and hand the keys to the valet. You would seem like you’re trying too hard and that just isn’t cool. However, the GranTurismo looks classy and, save for those red calipers, it’s rather subtle. There’s no ridiculous spoilers or diffusers and even the air vents and intakes look like part of the car’s design rather than something slapped in there afterwards out of necessity. It’s svelte figure looks just as good arriving on the red carpet as Scarlett Johannsson. The Italians really do have the right idea when it comes to design and Maserati have always made some of the best looking cars on the planet. In fact, one of my previous favorites for prettiest car money can buy, the Quattroporte, was also from Maserati.

That’s not to say the GranTurismo is slow. Oh, no. 405 BHP with a top speed of 177MPH and 0-60 in 5.2 seconds. Not bad for something that has four seats. In fact, the only other sort of sport coupe that I can think of that’s faster would have to be the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti which is 533 BHP and a top speed of 199MPH but also about twice as much as the anticipated $130,000 sticker price of the Maserati.

The Maserati is also a much better looking car than the 612. There are certainly similarities but the GranTurismo looks firmer, tauter and more aggressive. In fact, the 612 is one of the only Ferraris that look…actually rather boring. We’re going to have to wait for a production GranTurismo on TV to hear how that engine sounds but if it’s anything close to the Aston Martin V8 Vantage…oh baby…